Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Goa, wife Vickie and daughter Janice are presented with a lifetime pass to the Silverdome in honor of Randy's crown. start/finish line and he held that spot for the succeeding nine laps to take the win. Steve Morehead rode his Harry Lillie Can-Am in second for the entire race with Barkman holding on to third at the finish. Eklund, a multi-time National TT winner, unloaded two more times and eventually pushed his Rotax off the track and called it a night. ''I'm disgusted," said Eklund. Parker led the second heat off the line and around the rough track on the opening lap, but the second go;!round saw Honda's Mickey Fay take the lead for good. Parker and Rookie of the Year Doug Chandler pressured Fay, but Fay rode a smooth-as-silk race and took the win. Parker charged all the way but nearly every time he gotopon Fay's rear wheel he'd go sideways and drop back a bikelength or two. While Fay and Parker grabbed first and second without other challenges, Chandler had to work extra hard for third. He got sideways in one ofi!h.e infield's right hand turns and in an instant Rich King went past [or third. Chandler came back two laps late! and swept past King in the ovli's 1-2 turn. Chandler held the third spot to the line. Bubba hobert, fourth in the point standings going into the program, was looking forward to a strong final ra e and had hopes of improving his finIshing order in the standings. But Shof>ert went down on the opening lap of the second heat and, although he recovered and rode hard, the best he could do was fifth. Three-time Grand National Champion - jay Spri ngsteen of nearby Lapeer, Michigan, had the Michigan fans cheering as he stormed off the line at the start of the third heat and ran away with the 10-lap race. Finishing second behind Springsteen was yet another Michigan rider, Garth Brow. Brow was riding a bike he hadn't seen before that morning. "BerrY Graham from Canada owns th bike. He came up to me at Syracu ~ and said he had a bike for me to ride here. I said OK and now I'm in the National," said Brow. Rookie Expert Randy Greene, who first opened Camel Pro Series fans' eyes when he finished third in the Houston Short Track at the beginning of the season, lOok ,third. Heat number four had everyone on the edges of their seats as Hartland, Michigan's Randy Goss took his pole position spot on the start line. Everyone knew that if Goss transferred to the main he was only one finishing spot away fro~ the title. Goss as he led the field into the infield and the across the line at the end of the opening lap. He pulled a lillie distance on Alex jorgensen, Tim Mertens, Ted Boody and the remainder of the field, but coming into the front straighta way at the end of lap three he went down. "I watched the heats from the pits but when I went over thejumpon the first lap I realized the track was rougher than I thought it was. I was following the berms and getting a drive off them. I knew where the little ruts were, but a big one surprised me," said Goss. The one that did surprise him high-sided him and gave the front three spots to jorgy.Mertens and Boody. "I knew what I had to do and I didn't panic," said Goss. He not only knew what he had to do, he did it. He had moved back up 10 sixth at the end of the eighth lap and appeared to be emi bound, but on the ninth lap the crowd let out a tremendous roar as Mertens, Boody and Pete Hames coiI ided in the last infield right hand turn. In the ensuing confusion, Goss slipped past several riders to take over third behind jorgensen and Tom Maitland. Brent Thompson, Goss' tuner, said, "I heard the crowd roar but I couldn't see Randy. When I realized he had fallen, my heart sank and I started to hope for a transfer spot. Then I heard the crowd roar again and I could bardly believe it. ow it's time to cross fingers." Graham's first heat win proved 10 be the fastest at four-minutes, 34.038 seconds, The track got rougher as the heats ran and "slowed" 10 the point where the fourth heat was won by jorgensen at4:49.076, over 15 seconds slower than Graham's heat. Semis The two-row start for the first semi became a three-row one when Poovey,Shobert, Taylor Whiteand jimmy Filice jumped the start and were put on the penalty line. Chuck Springsteen pulled the holeshot, but by the end of the ini tial lap it was Rich King out front. King stayed there and picked up the win and the only transfer spot the race offered. Shobert used every trick in the book and moved into second for good on the eighth lap. The Texan tried to close the gap on King but was unable to. "This is the first ational I made this year," said King, who hails from Waterloo, Iowa. "I wanted to make it out of my ~~at race, but I'll take it any Runner-up Mickey Fay leads third-placer Scott Parker (11) and Doug Chandler in their heat race. They also fought in the main. Alex Jorgensen used one of the many Rotax powerplants in the event to finish fourth in the National. . New York State's Fran Brown led every lap of the second semi except the one that counts, the final one. Brown had opened up what appeared to be a winning margin by the halfway point of the 10-lap race but Hames closed the gap on the succeeding laps and after they had taken the wbite flag signifying one lap to go, Hames made his charge. He slipped by Brown in the infield entrance turn and took the win. "I'm a rookie and I'm just glad to be in the National," said Hames. Last Chance Qualifier Only the winner of thefinal 10-lap qualifying race of the night would advance to the final and the man who earned that win was Yamaha-mounted privateer Mike Gilkey of Plano, lIIinois. Shobert gave it another shot but after surviving a hectic first lap that saw both Brown and Filice go down, Shobert went down on the fifth lap and his chances of making the National fizzled. While second in the Last Cbance Qualifier doesn't earn one a transfer, itdid get Ron Yamamoto some attention. The Maico-mounted Spokane, Washington, rider charged every inch of the way and stole second away from Chuck Springsteen on the eighth lap with a broad-sliding sweep around the outside of the oval's 3-4 turn. National Tension cenainly hit a leader Goss as the National field ,gridded. "Goss will be starting from the back row and a lot could happen," said Graham. "If Ricky wins, I'll end the season with the same number of wins a Bill Werner (Jay Springsteen's mechanic)," said Graham's tuner Tex Peel. "Title or not, that makes a good year." Everyone knew the 25-lap race on the rough track would tax them 10 the limit. As an example of how rough the track was, the usual close attention to tire selection was skipped. "just about any tire will work. All you need them for is 10 keep the rims off the ground," said Werner. As Graham selected the inside pole position, the opposite of the slot he had chosen for his heat race, the crowd was treated 10 the sight of nine riders in motocross garb-jerseys and nylon pants - and six riders in traditiona 1leathers. The Harley-Davidson team was dressed in white MX gear with black striping and the familiar Harley eagle gracing the front of their jerseys, At the flash of the green starting light it was Morebead pulling off a tremendous holeshot and leading the field into the infield for the first of 25 laps. But it was Graham who had the point as the first lap ended and it was soon evident that thedefendingchamp would win, barring a mechanical prob-

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